Steller's Jay

The Steller's Jay is a very pretty bird that doesn't
seem to be particularly shy of people. Although it is lovely to
look at, it has very harsh, noisy vocalizations.

It is the provincial bird of British Columbia,
Canada. Steller's Jays are frequently seen in the Rockie
Mountains.

Distribution/Location

General:
The
Steller's Jay is a member of the Jays and Crows family. Just as
the Blue Jay is common on the East Coast of North America, the Steller's
Jay is common on the West Coast, from Alaska and the Yukon in the north
to Arizona and New Mexico in the south.

Description - male:
Charcoal colored head and nape with a large black crest on top of the
head. Most have white streaks on the forehead and chin though
there are some subspecies that do not. The body, wings and tail
are a deep blue. The bill and legs are black. The birds are
about 11 inches long.

Description - female:
same as male, though slightly smaller.

Description - young:
Nestlings are born featherless. Three weeks after hatching, they
have the same coloring as the parents.

Feeding:
The Steller's Jay feeds on insects, other birds' eggs and nestlings,
nuts, seeds, acorns and berries. They are also frequent visitors
of campground picnic tables and bird feeders. The Steller's Jay
hoards food like acorns, seeds and nuts in caches around it's territory
for occasions when it can't find fresh food.

Habitat:
The Steller's Jay can be found in campgrounds, picnic areas and towns
making it a fairly easy bird for an amateur bird watcher to spot.
It also spends time in coniferous and mixed forests.

Nesting:
They mainly nest in conifer trees, using the needles of the tree to line
their nest. The nest is built of sticks, twigs and mud.
However, they have adapted to urban life by occasionally nesting under
the roof of a building.

The female typically lays a
clutch
of 3 to 4 eggs (though it can be anywhere from 2 to 6 eggs) which she incubates
for about 16 days. The eggs are bluish-green with dark brown
markings. The male feeds the female while she's incubating the
eggs.

Migration:
The Steller's Jay lives in its territory year round. They often
live in mountainous areas and will move up the mountain in the summer
and back down the mountain into the valley areas in the winter.